Box-ending machine



Oct. 8, 1929. w. w. WOODWORTH 1,730,549

BOX ENDING MACHINE Filed June 9, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 8, 1929. w; w. WOODWORTH 1,730,549

BOX ENDING MACHINE Filed June 9, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 8, 1929. w, w, woobwo 1,730,549

BOX -\ENDING MACHINE F le Ju 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3' Fig. 5.

Patented Oct. 8, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT WILLIAM w. woonwonrnc, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, AssrGNoR To smearin- SPRAGUE CORPORATION, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSA- CHUSETTS BOX-ENDING MACHINE Application filed June 9, 1927. Serial No. 197,626.

ordinarily operate upon single-wall boxes, or

those in which the outer end walls consist of rectangular sheets of pasteboard, independent from the remainder of the box-body, glued to comparatively narrow flanges projecting from the bottom and the side walls. When the machine is applied to such work, the reciprocating feeding member, which successively advances the end walls from their magazine, may remain between the pressure members, holding each wall until its attachment has been completed. In this relation, the feeding member may lie between the narrow boxflanges in a space in the box-carrying form, there being over this area no inner wall with which said feeding member would interfere. Ending apparatus with which I am acquainted are not, however, adapted to set up boxes having body-flanges entirely or largely covering the ends, as is the case with the structure made the subject of the application for Letters Patent of the United States filed in the name of Charles F. Sprague' on June 25, 1925, and having the Serial No. 40,655. With such a double-end box, there is no unoccupied space in which the feeding member can lie during the application of assembling pressure.

An object of the present invention is to provide for the satisfactory presentation of the outer walls to the box to which they are to be attached, regardless of the dimensions of the flanges providing the contacting inner surfaces. For this purpose, with a relatively movable supporting memberand co-operating abutment, and means for delivering box-walls to the abutment, I'combine means constantly associated with the abutment for retaining the wall, this means being herein disclosed as pneumatic and consisting of a suction created in a passage in the abutment. By employing this organization, the feeding means may leave the box-wall in place upon the abutment and be withdrawn, so the succeeding op erations are performed without reference toit. To prevent the separation of the attached wall from the box after the pressure-operation has been completed, I have included means for rendering the retaining meansineffective as the supporting means and abut- When the retaining means ment separate. is pneumatic, the suction which acts upon the wall may be broken in time with the application of pressure to the work. I'prefer to associate the retaining means with a pressure member co-operating with the feeding means, which member is movable upon the abutment. This is of particular utility in connection with the pneumatic retentionof the wall, since the suction isapplied through openingswhich may adapt themselves to the surface of the work.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 shows a particular embodiment of the invention in side elevation;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the upper portion of the machine, looking from the side opposite to that shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the pressure and retaining member;

Fig. 4 shows the upper portion of the apparatus in perspective;

Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views of one extremity of the blank and of the completed box, respectively; and

Fig. 7 is a plan view of one of the end walls, illustrating particularly the areas over which the adhesive is applied.

At the upper portion of a frame 10 is mounted a magazine A, having its side walls 12, 12 and outer wall 14 adjustable toward and from the center of the magazine to adapt it for the holding of different sizes of the rectangles X of pasteboard which furnish the outer end walls of set-up boxes. Its front wall 16, beneath which the successive feeding of the box-walls takes place, is variable vertically to provide, whatever may be the thickness of the stock, for the retention of all the stack save thelowest piece, which is delivered. The stack of work-pieces in the magazine rests upon horizontal fingers 18, 18 extending from a feed-slide 2O guided upon the top of the frame outside the magazine. n each finger is a vertical shoulder 22 arranged to contact with the outer edge of the lowermost piece in the magazine and feed it forward from those above it. The feed-slide is reciprocated to supply the walls X from the magazine to pressure mechanism C, through connections including a rod 24, bell-crank lever 26, link 28 and lever 29 from a cam 30. This cam is fixed upon a shaft 32 journaled near the lower portion of the frame and r geared at 34: to a power-shaft 86.

Beneath the magazine A there is supported upon the frame a pan 38 for glue or other adhesive. Normally submerged in the contents of the pan is an applying member,which may consist of parallel longitudinal bars to and an inner transverse bar 42, the latter being discontinuous to avoid interference with the feed-fingers. Together, the bars may furnish an applying grid which, when elevated into contact with the lowest piece X in the magazine, will impress upon it a design made up of strips of glue, such as is shown in Fig. 7 of the drawings. This adapts the wall for proper adhesion to the end of a blank Y, appearing in Fig. 5, when said blank is folded to the form shown in Fig. 6. The outer lines a, a of glue upon the side margins of the end wall provide for its adhesion to the flanges b, 6 upon the side walls, 0, c of the box-body, while the lines (Z secure the portion of the wall between the side margins to the end wing c, which rises from the bottom 7, with the lower margin of the end wing held by the line 9. The longitudinal bars 40 are shown as arranged in groups upon vertical rods 44 guided upon the side walls 12 of the magazine and adjustable with them. The transverse bar 42 is secured to arms 46, 46 pivoted at opposite sides of the pan 38, and by contact at ll with a projection from the bars 40 receives motion from them. Journaled in a bracket at each side of the pan is a shaft 48 having fastupon it arms 50, 50 connected to the grid-rods id. The shaft is oscillated to raise the grid out of the glue in the pan, apply it to the lowest piece in the magazine and then return it to its normal position, by an arm 52 fixed upon the shaft d8 and secured by a rod 54: to the lever 29, this, as has already been pointed out, being actuated by the cam 30.

Across the front of the frame, with its under surface just above the plane in which move the feeding fingers 18, is a fixed abutment 56 of the pressure mechanism C. Movable in vertical ways below the abutment is a slide 58 having at its top a head 60, upon which there is shown mounted a form 62 adjustable as to width, and over which may be placed successively folded-up ends of the blanks Y, with the sides held in substantially their true relation by spring-clips 64. Into co-operation with the plane under face of the abutment 56 the end of a box upon the form is forced by a toggle-lever 66, one extremity of which is joined to the slide 58, while the other is connected to a yoke 68 yieldably supported upon side rods 70. To the center joint of the toggle an eccentric-rod 69 is articulated, and is actuated by an eccentric 71 on the shaft 32.

In the abutment, and opening through its lower contact-face, is formed a chamber 7 2 having depending from its upper wall a vertical guide-sleeve 74:. Guided within the sleeve is a tubular stem 76 rising from a foot 7 8. A collar 80, secured upon the upper entremity of the stem and contacting with the top of the abutment, limits the downward movement of the foot under the influence of gravity to a point somewhat below the contact-surface of the abutment, while allowing it to rise under the pressure of the work. The foot elongated in the direction of the magazine, and has comparatively narrow surfaces 82, which extend forward from upwardly curved rear extremities 84:. The normal position of the foot may be such that the surfaces 82 lie somewhat below the top face of a wall X advanced by the fingers 18. As the wall reaches the foot, it forces its way beneath the curved ends 84: until the surfaces 82 lie above the fingers. Now the foot acts to hold the wall in place upon the fingers, maintaining its engagement with the shoulders 22, and insuring its continued advance into applying position beneath the abutment.

The presser-foot 78 may also serve to retain each wall X in place beneath the abutinent while the feeding fingers are being withdrawn and until the head has applied its pressure. To permit the foot to so function, it is hollow, the passage through it terminating in openings 86 formed in its lower side between the forward portions of the surfaces 82. Through these openings 86 is created a normally continuous suction from an air-pump 88 by way of the interior of the foot, the hollow stem 7 6, and a pipe or conduit 90, which includes a flexible section 92 to avoid interference with the movement of the foot. Periodically, just before the head 60 descends upon the completion of the ending operation, the suction is broken to nullify the retaining effect by a cam 94: upon the shaft 32. This cam, in its rotation, strikes a lever 96, which raises from its seat a valve 98 in the pipe 90. The box-wall X is thus freed from the retaining effect.

To out-line the operation of the machine, the magazine A being supplied with a stack of the walls X, and the pump 88 being maintained in continuous operation, the operator takes the blanks Y one by one, and, folding one end into box-form, applies it to the head 60 and starts the machine in operation by depressing a treadle 100. This causes the grid ars 4:0 and 42 to rise from the glue in the pan 38 and impress their design upon the bot-' tom piece in the magazine. Then, as the grid descends, the fingers 18 move forward, carrying by their shoulders 22 the thus-glued piece beneath the abutment 56. As the glued wall X passes under the presser-foot 78, this foot rises to adapt itself to the work-piece and rides upon the side opposite that which has received the glue, holding it firmly in place on the fingers. As the forward margin of the wall reaches the setting-up or attaching position, it comes below the openings 86 through which the pump 88 is creating a suction. Since the yield of the foot permits it to adapt itself perfectly to the surface of the delivered Wall X, this pneumatic action effectively retains the work in place beneath the abutment, so the feeding fingers may be withdrawn to their initial position. Thereupon the slide 58 rises, bringing the folded box with it and pressing its flanges b and 6 against the glued surface of the retained wall X, causing these to be secured together. As this pressure is completed and the slide 58 is about to descend, the lever 96, actuated by the cam 94, opens the valve 98. The suction through the foot is thus destroyed, and the work released so that it may be removed without danger of separating the attached wall from the body of the box.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for applying walls to boxes, a box-supporting member and a co-operating abutment, means for delivering a box-wall to the abutment, means constantly associated with the abutment for retaining the wall thereon, and means for moving the support and abutment relatively to press the box and wall together.

2. In a machine for applying walls to boxes, a box-supporting member and a cooperating abutment, means for delivering a box-wall to the abutment, means carried by the abutment for retaining the wall thereon, means for moving the support and abutment relatively toward and from each other, and means for rendering the retaining means inefiective as the supporting member and abutment separate.

3. In a machine for applying walls to boxes, a box-supporting member and a cooperating abutment, means for delivering a box-wall to the abutment, pneumatic means acting upon the wall on the abutment, and means for moving the support and abutment relatively to press the box and wall together.

4. In a machine for applying walls to boxes, a box-supporting member and a cooperating abutment, said abutment being provided with a passage, means for delivering a box-wall to the abutment across the opening of the passage, means for creating a suction through the passage, and means for moving the support and abutment relatively to press the box and wall together.

5. In a machine for applying walls to boxes, a box-supporting member and a cooperating abutment, said abutment being provided with a passage, means for delivering a box-wall to the abutment across the opening of the passage, means for creating a suction through the passage, means for moving the support and abutment relatively to press the box and wall timed in its operation with the moving means for breaking the suction.

6. In a machine for applying end walls to boxes, a reciprocatory head arranged to receive a box, an abutment situated above the head and against which said head presses the work, a wall-feeding member movable to ward and from the abutment, and means for retaining upon the abutment a Wall delivered by the feeding means as said feeding means retreats from the abutmentl 7., In a. machine for applying end walls to boxes, a reciprocatory head arranged to re ceive a box, an abutment situated above the head. and against which said head presses the work, a wall-feeding member movable toward and from the abutment, means for retaining upon the abutment a wall delivered by the feeding means as said feeding means retreats from the abutment, means for moving the head to press the box and wall together after the retreat of the feeding member, and means for releasing the wall from the retaining member after such pressure-movement.

8. In a machine for applying end walls to boxes, an abutment, wall-feeding mechanism delivering to the abutment; a wallengaging member movable upon the abutment, wall-retaining means carried by the engaging member, and a box-carrying head co-operating with the abut-ment.

9. In a machine for applying end Walls to boxes, an abutment, wall-feeding mechanism delivering to the abutment, a pressure member movable upon the abutment by contact with the wall fed, said member having a passage openingthrough its contact-face means for creating a suction through the passage, and a box-carrying head arranged to move toward and from the abutment.

10. In a machine for applying end walls to boxes. an abutment, wall-feeding mechanism delivering to the abutment. a pressure member movable upon the abutment bv contact with the wall fed, said member having a passage opening through its contact-face, a suction-conduit connected to the passage, a valve in the conduit, and a box-carrying head arranged to move toward and from the abutment.

11. In a machine for applying end walls together, and means to boxes, an abutment, wall-feeding mechanism delivering to the abutment, a pressure member movable upon the abutment by contact with the wall fed, said member having a passage opening through its contactface, a suction-conduit connected to the passage, a valve in the conduit, a box-carrying head arranged to move toward and from the abutment, driving mechanism for reciprocating the head, and means under the influence of the driving mechanism for operating the valve.

12. In a machine for applying end walls to boxes, a magazine for box-walls, a device arranged to apply an adhesive to opposite margins of a box-Wall and to portions between the margins, co -operating pressure members, a reciprocatory feeder arranged to deliver coated walls from the magazine between the pressure members, and retaining means associated with one of the pressure members and arranged to actupon the opposite side of the wall from that coated by the applying device.

In testimony whereof I have signedmy name to this specification.

WILLIAM W. WVOOD'WORTH. 

